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Hall of Famer: Alexandria's Dale Serum honored by MSU-Moorhead

Former District 206 director of student activities and one of Alexandria's most influential pieces to its sports programs was honored by Minnesota State University-Moorhead when Dale Serum was inducted into the Dragons' Hall of Fame in October of 2010.

Serum spent two years at Moorhead State from 1956-57. During that time, he was one of the top catchers in college baseball and also a two-year starter for the Dragons' men's basketball team. The former baseball standout turned down a chance to play in the New York Yankees system so he could complete his degree.

Serum and his wife, Carol, moved to Alexandria in 1959. He spent 14 years from 1980-1993 as the District 206 activities director and 18 years as the recreation director for the Alexandria Area Recreation Department from 1962-1980.

Serum spent countless hours working to improve Alexandria programs during that time. He, along with John Heydt, initiated the Cardinal Team Leaders Program, which helped build strong leaders throughout Alexandria's extracurricular activities.

With revenues generated from concession stands and vending machines, Serum helped build dugouts, enhance the surface fields, erect backstops and put in lighting on baseball and softball fields used by school and recreation teams. He was also responsible for the hiring of many Cardinal coaches who helped Alexandria compete near the top of the conference standings in many of its athletics.

In 1967, Serum led the efforts to reconstruct Memorial Field, the baseball field that was made it 1949, into the Knute Nelson Memorial Baseball Field that stands in Alexandria today. The current field is home to high school and amateur baseball teams, along with the Alexandria Beetles of the Northwoods' League. His energy for improving Alexandria extracurricular activities earned him the Regional Athletic Director of the Year Award in 1990-91.

Since retiring in 1992, Serum has stayed active in many of the sports he grew up loving. He has three children and four grandchildren who participate in baseball, basketball, hockey and golf.